


Aftershock

by STRQ



Category: RWBY
Genre: F/F, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-03
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2018-12-10 10:25:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11689710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/STRQ/pseuds/STRQ
Summary: One slight change leads to a vastly different outcome at the Fall of Beacon. Beacon doesn't completely fall, Cinder is defeated, and Salem is fought directly. Will feature Dragonslayer and Whiterose hints of Ladybug. this is an AU, Military!Ruby, Maiden!Ruby. (hope I did that correctly)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> If there are any spelling or grammar errors, I apologize.

0-0-0-0-0 Dream, Jaune 0-0-0-0-0

Jaune, Pyrrha and Ozpin rushed down the hall, green lights flashing by.

“What is this place?” Jaune asked, looking around.

“It’s...a type of vault” Pyrrha answered.

“You’ve been here before?” Jaune asked, shocked. Pyrrha didn’t respond. “What would this school have to hide?” he asked to no one in particular. At that moment, they arrived at the end of the hall. “What..”

In front of him were what looked like glass topped coffins with lots of high tech stuff in between. The one on the right ws empty, however, the left one had a girl inside, a girl with a heavily scarred face.

Pyrrha turned around to face Jaune “ Jaune..I” she began

“Pyrrha, get to the pods” Ozpin interrupted, pointing to the empty one. Pyrrha hesitated, before going over to it. Ozpin looked directly at Jaune. “Mr Arc, if you would like to help, you can stand guard here” he said, his tone deadly serious.

Deciding to follow the order, he turned around, holding his shield at the ready, while listening to what was happening behind him.

“What do we do now?” asked Pyrrha, watching as Ozpin typed on a screen.

“We….do nothing” he replied. Suddenly the pod rose up and opened with a hiss of escaping air.“You, Miss Nikos, have a choice to make”

Pyrrha looked at the pod, then over at Jaune, standing guard. She knew there was only one right choice. Wiping away a tear, she climbed into the pod, which closed over her. Ozpin continued to type furiously as a rumble shook the building.

“Are you ready?” he asked, looking at Pyrrha, who nodded. “I…” he hesitated. “I need to hear you say it” Ozpin said, sounding almost panicked.

“Yes”

“Thank you Miss Nikos” Ozpin typed one last command into the terminal. The other pod rose up, and suddenly golden colored light was flowing, from the left pod to the right. Pyrrha screamed, feeling as if she were being overfilled with air and would pop at any second.

“Pyrrha!” shouted Jaune, turning to face her.

“I’m...so sorry” said Ozpin.

Then an arrow flew through the air, embedding itself in the control panel.

“No!” shouted Ozpin as the panel smoked and crackled with electricity, before the whole contraption, including both pods, were engulfed in a terrible explosion.

0-0-0-0-0 Present, Jaune 0-0-0-0-0

Jaune woke up from the dream, heart pounding as if her were really still there, under the tower, watching the fight that determined the fate of all humanity. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he sighed, trying to get his breathing under control. He heard the sheets shifting behind him, before feeling two strong, warm arms wrap around him, a familiar lemon scent wafting over him.

“Jaune..c’mon babe..it’s so late.” Yang slurred sleepily. Jaune looked at the clock, which read 4:36 a.m.

“Actually it’s early Yang” he said, before feeling her pull him back into a laying position, her sleepy grumbling filling his ears. He didn’t want to worry her, after all these years together, but still, the images from the dream stuck in his mind, as vivid as when he had first seen them ten years ago.

“I had another dream about that day” he said. Yang's arms were suddenly tight around him.

“Was...was it bad?” she asked, her voice tense, on edge. She never like reminders of that day, the day where they both lot so much, though in different ways.

“It felt like I was back there. And, I...nevermind” he said, not wanting to upset her more that she already was. Jaune felt her sit up, and he did the same, until they were both sitting cross legged on the bed.

“What, Jaune? Was there more to it this time? Did you remember more?” her eyes were turning red her hair starting to ignite, a bad sign.

“No, I still don’t remember much after the fight it’s just, It was...Ruby was there. And Weiss.”

Yang turned her head away, her body cooling down from anger to sadness as it always did when Ruby was brought up. In the moonlight, he saw the glistening of tears in her eyes, and he pulled her into a hug, letting her cry like she always did. He knew he could have just not brought it up, but he knew, from the few times that he had tried, that Yang knew him well enough to know when he was hiding something. Eventually, she stopped crying, falling back onto the bed and drifting into a fitful sleep. Jaune looked over at the clock: 5:02.

Sighing, he slipped out of bed, covering up Yang, his love, his wife, and went to go check on their kids.

 

0-0-0-0-0 Present, Ruby 0-0-0-0-0

 

Many miles away, Jaune wasn’t the only one dreaming about the fall of Old Beacon. Tossing fitfully on the bed, Ruby Rose eventually gave up trying to sleep, and instead, got up, heading to the bathroom. Once inside, she undressed, revealing many long vertical scars on her back, and turned on the shower, climbing in.

Afterward, as she was passing the steamed up mirror, she paused, looking at her foggy reflection. Wiping one hand across the surface, she looked at herself. Her hair had grown longer, hanging to just above her shoulders. There was the scar, running from her left temple all the way down to her cheek.

Then were her eyes, the left one green, the right brown, with golden flecks. Sighing, she left the room, dressing in black running shorts and a red tanktop, deciding to go for a run on the indoor track, one of the many perks that her house had, only befitting her position as General of the Valerian Armed Forces and Captain of the Rose Thorns.

As she walked through the house, she smiled thinking about the Rose Thorns, a special group of six men and five women specially picked and trained by her to fight the fights the regular Army of 500 couldn’t. Though she had only recently started them five months ago, after a disastrous fight on the Vacuoan border, already they were gaining a good reputation as legends.

And she couldn’t have done it without the financial support of the SDaMSC, the Schnee Dust and Military Supply Corporation, headed by her longtime friend and romantic partner, Weiss Schnee. Ruby was so proud of how far they had both come, and it was only together, and with the help of Ozpin, that they had been able to found the Valerian Military.

Reaching the track, she was so lost in thought that she didn’t notice the other person on the track until they ran into each other. Ruby managed to remain standing, but the other person, a woman, went sprawling. Recognizing her, Ruby rushed over to help her up.

“Oh, I’m so sorry Blake!” Ruby said, pulling the faunus easily to her feet. Blake Belladonna was Ruby’s friend, and also the lieutenant of the Rose Thorns. They had had a brief romance many years ago, but it fell apart. Afterward, to try and clear the air between them, Ruby had offered her the first position on the Rose Thorns, which Blake had gladly accepted.

“That’s ok, commander. I should have been paying closer attention to where I was running.” so saying, she saluted, before leaving the track. Ruby sighed. Still, after all these years Blake couldn’t spend more than a minute in her presence. It had seemed to get better, until Ruby had started dating Weiss.

Beginning a slow jog around the track, Ruby checked her scroll for any urgent business. Unsurprisingly, there was a message from Ozpin, flagged as ‘extremely important’ increasing her pace slightly, she opened the message, beginning another long governmental day.

 

0-0-0-0-0 Present, Jaune 0-0-0-0-0

 

The small house on Patch was quiet in the early morning light, internal lights glowing softly as the inhabitants awoke. Then the tranquility was broken by the angry scream of a young girl.

“AHHHHHH! MOM, DAD, JUNIOR DUMPED WATER ON ME!!!!”

Seconds later, Jaune rushed into the room, a sleepy Yang just behind him. They entered to find one glowering girl, age 4, her long curly hair dripping water as she sat on her bed. Next to the bed, on the opposite side from the door, was a young boy, age five, with short blonde hair, and a mischievous grin, holding a small empty bucket.

“Junior..” sighed Jaune, as Yang went to the girl, grabbing a towel and drying her off. The boy, Jaune Arc Jr., stood innocently, hiding the bucket behind his back while his sister, Huo Xiao Long, glared at him from inside the towel.

“Yes dad?” he asked, his eyes, lavender like his mom, still gleaming with mischief.

“What have we told you about teasing your sister. No matter what, you won’t make her semblance appear.”

“Was worth a try!” he said, before teleporting out of the room, giggling madly.

Yang smiled as she finished drying her daughter. “He reminds me of, well, me, when I was younger.” they both just stayed put for a moment as Huo chased after her brother. Yang rested her head on Jaune's shoulder listening to the chaos below, Huo having apparently caught Junior, and was threatening to drown him in the tub.

“Should we intervene?” asked Yang, giggling slightly.

“Not yet.” replied Jaune, turning to kiss Yang.

From below them came the sound of the tub turning on.

“Now we step in” said Jaune, as they both rushed down to stop the murder in progress.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stuff happens. also edited for clarification, and grammar/spelling mistakes, plus an actual whole chunk i forgot to add in because i wrote it entirely on FF.net, many apologies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> again, sorry for any grammar/spelling errors i might miss.

0-0-0-0-0 Past, Jaune 0-0-0-0-0

 

"No!" Ozpin shouted, as the pods exploded. Jaune felt panic rising, a moment of tension as he closed his eyes expecting to feel the rush of flames at any moment. Instead, he heard rushing flames, and a crackling like lightning.

Opening his eyes, he saw that he was surrounded by a green forcefield of energy, which was being created by Ozpin himself. Where he pods had been was only a smoking crater. Ozpin stood slowly, facing the woman in front of them.

"What!" she shouted, clearly angry. "I am supposed to have the maidens power! What trickery have you done Ozpin?" Ozpin only smiled faintly.

* * *

(seconds earlier)

Inside the pod, Pyrrha felt as if time had slowed down, through the pain, she watched as the arrow slowly moved past Ozpin. Suddenly, a voice spoke in her mind, one she had never heard before, yet one she felt she knew.

"You only have a few more seconds" she said.

"Who...Who are you?" Pyrrha replied in her mind.

"I am Amber, but that doesn't matter. You must help me keep our remaining power out of her hands!"

The arrow had pierced the panel

"How?" asked Pyrrha

"Think of someone, quickly. Someone young, strong, and worthy of this power. then together, we will send the power to her."

The explosion was quickly approaching, she had only a second to think of a name.

"Ruby…"

And then she was dead

 

0-0-0

 

Outside the tower, Ruby and Weiss fought valiantly, their orders from Goodwitch being to protect it at all costs. They had been doing well, but a woman had slipped past them, and they had been fighting to follow her, the Grimm Dragon having spawned more grimm in their path.

Weiss and Ruby had just finished off the last one, an Ursa Major, when a golden orb of light burst out of the ground and flowed into Ruby. Ruby shouted in panic, dropping Crescent Rose.

"Ruby!" Weiss ran over to her, kneeling down and cradling her in her arms. She was glowing golden, and her left eye had a blazing halo around it. What shocked her more was that the eye itself had turned bright green.

Suddenly Ruby stood up, and started walking straight to Beacon Tower, mumbling the same thing over and over.

"The other half..must find the other half"

Weiss followed, trying to hold Ruby back, and ask questions at the same time, but Ruby was like a train, unstoppable and unresponsive. As they got into the main hub of the tower, the saw Jaune emerging from one of the elevators.

"Thank god!" he shouted "You need to help! Ozpin is fighting alone down there against a crazy woman. She...she killed Pyrrha" Jaune broke down, and Weiss made the mistake of letting go of Ruby to help him.

The moment she did, Ruby ran to the elevator,Pressing the lowest button. Weiss just managed to get in there with Jaune with the use of her glyphs, the door nearly crushing Jaune's foot. 

After traveling for almost a full minute, a very tense one, the elevator doors opened, revealing a fight that the three would never forget. Ozpin moved with impossible speed, his body leaving afterimages. The woman, Cinder, couldn’t keep up, instead, she kept him away with blasts of fire.

Ruby pulled out Crescent Rose, rushing forward with her semblance. As she ran, she felt surges of power within her, like nothing she had felt before. Jumping into the air, she swung her scythe at Cinder, who dodged out of the way, before kicking Ozpin to the side.

Cinder looked at Ruby, her right eye blazing with a golden aura. Ruby knew, though she didn’t know how, that her left eye was doing the same. Ozpin tried to get up, but, at that moment, Cinder spun with unnatural quickness, kicking him in the face, knocking him out cold, before continuing to spin, turning to face Ruby.

“You have something that is mine, girl, give it back!” cinder shouted, her hands igniting with fire.

“I could say the same thing” Ruby said.

Growling, Cinder manifested her swords, wicked black curved ones made from fire dust and glass. She leapt forward, swinging one sword at Ruby’s neck, the other at her middle. Ruby blocked with the full length of her scythe's handle, before twirling it, shoving Cinder back.

Hey fought back and forth for a few minutes. Jaune and Weiss tried to help, but after Jaune took a sword blow to the head, breaking his Aura, Ruby ordered them to stay back. Weiss, however, continued to help with her glyphs, until she was too exhausted to fight.

Eventually, it came to a deadlock, their weapons pushing against the other, each trying to dominate the fight. Ruby, though less experienced, hadn’t been fighting Ozpin, and was about to overpower Cinder. Cinder, however, didn’t play fair.

Twisting to the side, she sent Ruby flying forward, reinforced with a kick to her back. Ruby tumbled forward, Crescent Rose falling out of her hands and into the still smoking crater. Ruby froze as Cinder summoned one final blast of fire.

Then Ruby felt a whispering in her mind, a quiet voice telling her what to do.

“Lift your hands up”

Ruby did so, and as the fire flew towards her, it changed shape, twisting into a long, narrow stream, slightly curved, leading to a wide flat section, curved like a beak, set at a ninety degree angle to the first part. It was, obviously, scythe

The second the fire touched Ruby’s hands, it solidified, turning black, and sleek, like obsidian. It felt perfect in Ruby’s hands. The style, though unlike Crescent Rose, more like her Uncle’s scythe, didn't bother her, as she had trained with his before forging her own.

Cinder looked outraged, but scared. Ruby walked casually forward, blocking all attack with her new scythe, which she named, fittingly, Obsidian Rose. Cinder tried attacking Ruby, but every time her swords clashed with Ruby’s scythe, a golden fragment of the Maidens power would surge from Cinder into Ruby.

“What's happening?” she growled, backing away from Ruby, no longer attacking.

With a groan, Ozpin stood, holding a hand to a bleeding gash on his head. “The Maidens power is transferring to the more, suitable host”

Cinder knew that, with Ozpin back up, she wouldn't stand a chance, and she turned to run, before being locked into place by Weiss’s glyphs. Ruby kept approaching Cinder, swinging Obsidian Rose back and forth in front of her, as if reaping wheat.

She stopped a few feet from Cinder, then casually flicked the scythe upward, as if to cut off her head. Weiss, Jaune and Ozpin all flinched and looked away, expecting to hear a heavy thump any second. When it didn’t come, the looked over, seeing the very tip of the blade pressing into Cinder’s Chin, Golden power flowing into Ruby.

As the last bit of it flowed out of Cinder, Ruby collapsed, eyes closed. Weiss, scared and surprised, let her concentration slip just enough that her glyphs weakened, and Cinder broke free, Raising her sword to strike down the young red clad girl.

“Ruby!” shouted Weiss, rushing forward, but someone had acted before her, charging forward with a guttural yell. Weiss only watched in horror and relief as Jaune’s sword shattered Cinder’s remaining Aura, and continued on the point erupting from her chest.

Cinder gasped, her swords dropping to the ground with a clatter before they dissolved into nothing. Ozpin had rushed forward and grabbed Ruby, pulling her back away from Cinder, and Weiss was still standing where she was. So when Cinder somehow ignited the Dust woven into her dress, only Jaune was caught in the blast.

 

0-0-0

 

Ruby’s head hurt. It pounded like several of Nora were inside whacking away with Magnhild. She opened her eyes slowly, at first her surroundings were hazy with bright white light, but after a few seconds, she recognized it as a hospital room.

Taking in her surroundings more closely, she noticed Weiss sitting to her right, asleep in her chair. To her left was a bed with a curtain around it to give the occupant privacy.

“W-Weiss?” Ruby managed to almost whisper. Ruby coughed, her throat was so dry. “Weiss!” this time, she was a little louder, managing to rouse Weiss.

“Ruby!” Weiss sprang forward, wrapping Ruby in a hug. “I’m glad you’re awake.” Weiss murmured into Ruby’s neck.

“Weiss..water…” Ruby said, coughing again.

“Oh, Right, Yes!” Weiss went over to a side table, filling a paper cup with water with shaking hands, before handing it to Ruby, who drank it gratefully. “Ruby...how do you feel?” she asked sitting down again.

“Horrible...How are Yang? And Blake, and Jaune, And..”

“Shhh…” Weiss shushed her. “Everyone is...Ok. they’re all alive at least.”

Ruby was silent for a moment, before suddenly grabbing Weiss by the wrist.

Wait! What about..what happened with Cinder!!?”

Weiss looked away, staring out the window. “She's dead”

Ruby looked shocked. Tears started welling up in her eyes, though Weiss didn’t see. “Did..did i kill her?” Weiss looked back at Ruby so quickly she almost broke her neck.

“No! No no no…” Weiss hugged Ruby again, rubbing her back. “No, not you. After you..did what you did, you passed out. She was about to attack you and Jaune…” Weiss sighed.

Ruby realized Weiss was barely holding it together. Whatever had happened after she had blacked out, it couldn’t have been easy to see.

“Where is Yang? Why aren’t she and Blake here?” asked Ruby, hoping a change in subject would make Weiss feel better. Instead, Weiss looked even sadder, moving around to the curtained off bed, moving the curtain back, revealing Yang.

Ruby, sat up with difficulty, eyes spilling tears. Slowly, with Weiss’s help, she made it over to Yang.

“Oh, Yang…” Ruby whispered, looking down at were her right arm had been.

“She lost it protecting Blake. Blake was stabbed, she’s in the next room over.” Weiss said softly, placing one hand on Ruby’s shoulder. “Also, you've...well...you changed". Ruby looked up, resigned, depressed. It hurt Weiss to see her like this, so she said nothing, instead she just took out a small mirror, holding it up for Ruby to look into.

As Ruby looked, she realized why Weiss hadn’t been looking directly at her. Instead of her normal silver eyes, she had two different colored eyes. The left, bright green, the other, brown.

 

0-0-0-0-0 Present, Jaune 0-0-0-0-0

 

Jaune sat on the couch, the T.V was on a news station, the volume turned down so as not to disturb anyone. To his left sat Yang, eyes closed. Jaune reached over taking a hold of her prosthetic hand. She looked so peaceful sleeping there.

Yang’s scroll, on the armrest next to her, began buzzing, the ringtone letting Jaune know it was a mission. As a registered Huntress responsible for their income, these messages came through every so often. Yang sat up, startled, and grabbed her scroll, reading the message.

“What is it?” asked Jaune.

“Escort..” she mumbled, dropping her scroll onto the side table before leaning into him, falling back asleep. Jaune reached over her, reading the message for himself.

Mission Type: Escort  
Location: Anima  
Duration: 1-2 weeks  
Pay: 12000Ⱡ

[Accept] [Deny]

 

Jaune sighed, putting the scroll back down. As he did, a name on the news grabbed his attention, and he turned up the volume:

“...Rose, General of the Valerian Army, has taken emergency control of the Government of the Kingdom of Vale, following the apparent death of Ozpin and the rest of the Council in what appears to have been a terrorist attack by the White Fang. General Rose, who was out defending the southern border at the time of the attack, was rushed back to New Beacon, and was unavailable to comment.”

The news was showing a picture of said general, her multicolored eyes inscrutable, filled with the responsibility and stress of her station.

“...Police are still investigating the attack, which came in the form of a huge explosion from within the Vale Council Hall, where a meeting was in session. Some citizens are skeptical that the General, only 26, is fit to be at the helm, and more than a few are worried about her Atlesian ties, including recent rumors of a less than professional relationship with the SDMSC’s CEO, Weiss Schnee.”

The news story ended there, moving on to a report on the ‘Top Ten Vacuoan Restaurants in Downtown Vale’.

“What is she going to do?”

The question startled Jaune, as he had thought Yang to be asleep. He looked over at Yang, seeing the familiar sadness and anger in her eyes. Wrapping his arms around her, he picked her up, heading back to their room.

“I don’t know. Not anymore”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> oh man i forgot that i was dual posting this here....well uhhh here is literally everything that i've written on this story since the last chapter. man i am sorry. don't expect other chapters to be this long though. i will try to post a chapter here every 1-2 chapters i post elsewhere, as i'd like the chapters here to be longer. i will also make small changes, grammar edits, and the like on this one, so if you are only reading this on FanFiction, and for some reason are checking this out, still give it a read, they are mostly small changes, but they clarify things can't get across well on FF, or forgot to add.

0-0-0-0-0 Past, Ruby 0-0-0-0-0

Ruby sighed in satisfaction. Her Rose thorns were doing amazingly well, even without her help, defending the small village from the Grimm. The village was walled in, as most were outside the kingdom, and she had three posted on each wall except for the northern wall, where Blake was

Ruby herself stood on top of the tallest building, the clocktower, and observed. In her Right hand was Crescent Rose, in sniper rifle mode, in her left was Obsidian Rose. she hadn’t needed either all day, so good was her team. Besides Blake, each carried a specially designed Sword, made by her, along with their choice weapon.

The Sword, when not being used, collapsed into a cylinder for easy transport. When extended, the blades were two feet long. Each also had a panel in the hilt, which could be opened to load vials of dust to create special effects when the blade was swung, or on impact.

As such, each of the Rose Thorns also carried a bandolier of dust vials over the standard uniform of black leather jacket with the rose emblem on the shoulder, along with their designation number, plus their nickname, if they had one. Under the jacket was a simple red undershirt. Black pants, with red stripes on the sides of the legs, and black boots with red lacing. Each also had a belt with pouches of various things, Rations, Lien, Dust, Photos.

Ruby, #1, aka The Rose, jumped off the tower after seeing the last of the grimm go down. Reaching up to her earpiece, she gave the command to the rest of her squad.

“Alright Thorns, regroup at the clocktower.” Ruby waited until she had 11 “Rogers” from her team before pulling the earpiece out. Not two minutes later all eleven others were gathered, lining up in numerical order.

#2 Blake, Shadow  
#3 Sun, Monkey  
#4 Kou, Nurse  
#5 Nora, Big Hammer  
#6 Ren, Ninja  
#7 Midoru and #8 Midori, The Twins  
#9 Hunter, Surge  
#10 Dean, Sloth  
#11 Bronwen  
#12 River

Ruby inspected her team, noticing that The Twins had taken the most damage, despite being paired with Hunter. She sighed internally, wondering if she would have to reassign numbers to keep Midoru and Midori from bickering nonstop.

“Kou, heal The Twins.” Kou moved forward, her hands already glowing. “And you two” she snapped at the sisters. They snapped to attention. “If you can’t stop incessantly arguing, I will separate you, am I-”

Ruby’s scolding was interrupted by her scroll ringing loudly. Frowning, slightly annoyed, she answered it, wondering who would be calling her while she was in the field. It was a number she didn’t recognize.

“How did you get this number” she snapped immediately upon answering the call. The voice was one she had only heard a few other times in her youth.

“General Rose, What is you position. There is no time to explain, we need to get you to a safe location”

“Lindow Town, south of Vale. Ironwood, what is going-”

“Like I said, there is no time. I will explain more when you are secured.” then he hung up.

Ruby scoffed. ‘Secured’, like she was just another one of his robots, rather than an actual human. But inside, she was uneasy. The last time she had heard him that obviously upset had been at The Fall.

 

0-0-0-0-0

 

Thirty minutes later, on a small, quick Atlesian airship, Ruby faced her fellow General. Next to him sat Winter. Upon seeing her, Ruby had insisted upon bringing Blake as well, not wanting to be outnumbered (not that she thought they could beat her, she just liked to be cautious).

“General Rose, Miss Belladonna-”

“Lieutenant Belladonna” interrupted Ruby.

“...Lieutenant Belladonna. To briefly explain why you are here, 18 minutes ago, a terrorist attack wiped out the entire government of Vale, including Ozpin. As such, you, as the highest ranking member of the military, now have emergency command over the Kingdom, until a new King or Queen and a full Council can be established.”

Ruby paled slightly “How..why..What happened?” Ruby asked. General ironwood looked so tired.

“We don’t know much, just that there was an explosion at the Council chamber. It has created a huge mess. The press is already spreading panic, saying this is the White Fang resurgence, even though there’s no evidence.”

Ruby sighed, knowing the ridiculousness of the press, as they seemed to go after her when ever there was not enough new news. She leaned back, closing her eyes, feeling a headache coming on. Then, inside her head, the voices started.

“You should have seen this coming”

“What are we going to do?”

“Maybe it was actually him and they’re going to kill you”

“Shut up” Ruby thought in her mind, and the voices faded, as did the headache.

 

0-0-0-0-0

 

It was hours later. Ruby had been confined to a safe room within New Beacon. The only outside contact had been from Ironwood, telling her that her Team had arrived back, but that had happened hours before. The boredom was starting to get to her, when she heard the door lock beep, before it opened.

Ruby sat up quickly, expecting either Ironwood with more disappointing news, or an attack. However, what came through the door was better than either.

“Weiss..” Ruby rushed across the room, pulling the CEO into a kiss.

“Its good to see you too Ruby” said Weiss after pulling away, running a hand through Ruby’s hair. Weiss and Ruby sat together on the bed, Ruby on Weiss’s lap.

“How are you doing?” asked Weiss. “I heard what happened and came as fast as I could.

“Really, Just bored with this. Do they think I can’t fend for myself?”

“Ruby, it’s not about that, it’s that you just became the most powerful person in Vale” said Weiss, much more use to bureaucracy. Ruby sighed, leaning into Weiss.

“I can’t deal with this right now.” she said. She leaned back, pulling Weiss down onto the bed with her. Ruby lay with her arms and legs around Weiss, her face buried in the older girls chest.

“Just hold me Weiss, until we have to go”. Her voice was muffled by Weiss’s chest.

Weiss didn’t know what to say, so she just held Ruby tighter.

Ruby felt her eyes begin to close...

 

0-0-0-0-0 Dream, Ruby 0-0-0-0-0

 

“Miss Rose, do you know why I have called you here?” Ozpin sat behind his desk, in the new Beacon Tower, just rebuilt, communications newly restored between the kingdoms.

The office hadn't changed much, still the same large gears, same glass topped desk. However, along the windows were metal bars, as well as wire running through them, as General Ironwood had decided to reinforce the tower.

Ruby sat in the chair in front of him, around her were Professor Goodwitch, General Ironwood, her uncle Qrow, and two people who had been introduced as the headmasters of Haven and Shade Academy.

“No professor.” Ruby honestly wasn't sure, although she suspected it had something to do with how she could now control lightning, leaves, fire, pretty much anything.

“What do you remember about that night, Ruby?” Ozpin said, leaning forward.

“Well...Professor Goodwitch told me and Weiss to help defend the tower, and we did.” Ruby hesitated, the rest of the night was fuzzy. “There was a woman..I think..we tried to stop her, and then…” her voice trailed off uncertainly.

“Don't strain yourself, pipsqueak. We know what happened. Just wanted to see if you did too.” Said Qrow, taking a drink from his ever present flask. Ruby was glad that he was there, even if she wasn’t sue why.

“Ruby, that night, somehow, you inherited great power” said Ozpin, staring at her over the rim of his glasses. “From what Qrow has told me, you are much more powerful than we imagined.”

Ruby looked around at the people all around her. She was frightened, but only because she didn't understand. “What do you mean..great power?”

Ozpin looked inscrutable. “What is your favorite fairytale?”

 

0-0-0-0-0 Past, Weiss 0-0-0-0-0

 

Weiss looked around her Office. Her Office. The words were nice, filled with just as much power as she held. After the death of her father, and the fact that Whitley had been involved, the SDC had fallen into her hands, and the victory was sweet. Now she was going to turn this company around, make it into a better place. That meant she would need more money, change wasn’t cheap.

And so the most influential members of all four kingdoms had been invited to attend a dinner here in Atlas where, she hoped, she would get some big donations. She had sent the invitations out almost two weeks ago, a simple blanket invitation to the headmasters and head councilmen and women to bring “those who were the most influential”.

There was a knock on the door, and looking at her schedule, knew what was coming.

“Come in” she called, and the door opened, showing her assistant. “Do you have it?”

The woman, Dai Saong, was originally from Vacuo, but she was smart, and efficient.

“Yes ma’am, the final guests have RSVP’d, here’s the full guest list.” she handed over a single sheet of paper, with twenty five names, categorized by kingdom, as well as station. There were no surprises, until she got to the bottom of the list, under the Vale section.

24 Ozpin: Headmaster of Beacon  
25 Ruby Rose: General

Since when was Ruby a general, and along those lines, since when did Vale even have an army?

“Is this list….accurate?” she asked, still in shock. She looked up, and saw her assistant smirking.

“Yes, it is. Don’t you watch news networks for places other than Atlas?” so saying, she turned on the office tv, switching it from ADNN (Atlas Daily News Network) to VNN (Vale News Network). On screen, Lisa Lavender was just finishing the weekly review segment.

“And finally, the biggest, and most shocking change in Vale this week was the drafting of 500 citizens into a standing army, and the appointment of 16 year old Patch native Ruby Rose, as General. Citizens are skeptical about her ability, however, Headmaster Ozpin reassures both the public and the council that the young girl is “more than qualified”. The young General has declined to comment.”

Weiss turned the tv off, after listening to the end of the segment. What was Ozpin thinking? First, he moves her ahead two years, making her the youngest huntress in Beacon. Now the man makes her a General of an army? Granted, it wasn’t anywhere near Atlas, or even Mistral, only being larger than Vacuo, but placing 500 other people's lives in her hands was something she shouldn’t have to deal with. She would just have to see how she was doing at the dinner party tomorrow.

 

0-0-0-0-0 Past, Yang 0-0-0-0-0

 

Yang lay on the couch, watching the news story about her sister. Whereas the last months had been a blur of sadness and anger at herself, now, something new was emerging: Hatred. How could Ozpin do this to her sister? Had he even asked her what she wanted? Yang stood up, determined, lack of arm or no, to storm over to his office and punch a lesson into him.

But as she opened the door, she startled, and was startled by, Jaune, who apparently had just been about to knock. All her anger seemed to drain away. He looked terrible, hair a mess, eyes red from crying, skin paler than normal.

“I- I didn’t know who else to go to…” he seemed to be on the edge of a complete breakdown. Yang let him in, pulling him down onto the couch. Then, after (very carefully) getting him a cup of coffee, she sat down, asking him what was wrong.

“It’s just...Pyrrha..and Beacon...I’ve been avoiding thinking about it, but it all just came crashing down on me...everything that was lost..how much more I almost lost…”

Yang was at a loss for words. She hadn’t realize how hard this must’ve been for Jaune, being so caught up in her own problems. Instead of saying anything, she just pulled him into a one armed hug.

“I’m here for you”

 

0-0-0-0-0 Past, Blake 0-0-0-0-0

 

She had to run. They would be after her, they had been after her, ever since the Fall...seeing Adam, running away again...foiling his plans again...yeah, the Fang would no longer tolerate her being alive anymore.

In the last month, she had moved constantly. She had considered going home only once, but dismissed it. Why would she go to there, the headquarters of the White Fang movement, when they wanted her head.

She had to run, but now was too late. They had found her hideout, and any moment, they would find her, hiding in the corner of the bedroom she was in. she could hear them, two were on the floor below, the other three moving towards her on this floor.

Then several things happened at once. The door was kicked open, faunus started attacking, the sound of glass breaking and Blake’s vision became filled with red.

 

0-0-0-0-0 Present, Yang 0-0-0-0-0

 

“Are you going to accept the mission?”

Jaune and Yang both sat on the back porch, watching Huo and Junior playing in the backyard. The kids were running around, Junior chasing butterflies and other bugs, while Huo constantly built then destroyed a sand castle in the sand box. Yang sighed.

“The money is good, but...I don’t want to be away from the kids for so long”. Jaune grabbed her hand, squeezing it tight.

“I know. But I can take care of them. I know you miss being out there.”

“It has been a while…” she said, holding up her scroll, one finger hovering above the accept button. “I just don’t want to miss them growing up, Huo could develop her semblance and day now.”

Jaune thought for a moment, looking at Huo, stomping through a sand village, destroying it while roaring like a giant monster, and Junior, chasing after a dragonfly, while also having a caterpillar on his shoulder, a bucket of other bugs in his hand. They did grow up so fast.

“How about this. While you are gone, if you go, I’ll film everything”

Yang considered it. “Well...as long as you get everything…” she said.

“I’ll get everything” he promised. She smiled, then hit the accept button. A few seconds later, she received full info about the mission,. She’d be leaving the next morning. Then Junior dumped his bucket of bugs on Huo, causing her to royally freak out.

“Why did we get him a bucket again?” Jaune sighed, as they once again stopped Huo from trying to bury Junior alive in the sandbox.

 

0-0-0-0-0 Present, Jaune 0-0-0-0-0

 

Huo woke up feeling slightly sick. Mommy had been gone for a few days now, daddy said she was helping protect people in Mistral. In those few days, her brother, the stupid head, had pushed her in a lake, thrown food at her, and tried to cut her hair, all to, “awaken her semblance” as he put it. Stupid head.

She sat up in her bed, feeling like her head was on fire, like when mommy got mad, but on the inside instead. She stumbled into mommy and daddy's room, climbing onto their bed, trying to wake daddy.

“Hmm...huh? What? Wha you need sweetie?”normally she would giggle at him, but her head hurt so much.

“Daddy...my head hurts”

Jaune sat up, all his tiredness fading. His daughter was, in may ways, just like Yang, and in all her four years, Jaune had never seen her sick, not even when she played out in the snow without proper clothing.

He sat up, feeling her forehead. She was burning with a fever. He picked her up, carrying her down to the kitchen, trying to remember what to do for fever. Rest and fluids. That was what his mom had always told him. He sat her down on the table, going to get some apple juice for her.

When he got back, he was startled, her normally blue eyes were red, just like when...oh boy.  
He had only a few seconds of warning before her entire body erupted into flames, burning through the chair and scorching the wall behind her.

Jaune rushed over to see if she was ok, noting that the fire had died down to just her hands.

“Daddy...what’s happening?” as she looked up at him, her eyes returned to blue, the fire dying away. Jaune gently held her hands in his, making sure there were no burns, but her hands were fine, small and soft as ever.

He sighed, glad that she wasn’t actually sick. Then it hit him. Had it been recorded? He had set up cameras all over the house, just in case he missed something. He went over to the counter, and picked up the camera there. It was a fancy kind, being motion activated, and motion tracking. He stopped the recording, then wen back through it, hoping it had gotten it.

A few seconds later, he sighed in relief. It had recorded it, which was good because Yang would’ve killed him if it hadn’t. He turned the camera on again, deciding to personally film the rest of the day.

“Hey Huo, how do you feel now?” he asked, double checking the camera was still going.

The little blonde girl giggled, clapping her hands together, each clap making her hands flicker with flames. “Yay yay yay! I am like mommy!” Jaune couldn’t help smiling. Sure, Huo could be a bit, well, destructive. She prefered to play with grimm figurines rather than normal dolls, and she had almost killed her brother a few times, but with time she would mellow out, he hoped.

Yang liked to compare her to a fire, hot flames, dying down to slow burning coals, ready to erupt back to full fire at any time. As opposed to Jaune Jr. their son was more, calm, though he did have his mischievous side.

Jaune picked Huo up, putting her on a different chair, before giving her her apple juice and going to dispose of the charred remains of the other chair. When he got back, he could her Junior downstairs as well. He hurried, knowing that he couldn't’ leave them alone for long periods of time anymore.

 

0-0-0-0-0 Present, Jaune 0-0-0-0-0

 

It had been over two weeks since Yang had left. The mission had been simply an escort mission, but he supposed those could easily go overtime. It wasn’t until past midnight that he heard the door open and close. Getting up, he went over, seeing Yang shrugging out of her coat.

"Hey Yang, how did the mission go?" he asked, handing her a cup of coffee.

"It was just an Escort mission honey.” she replied nonchalantly. “Building company needed guarding. Apparently they're going to rebuild Shione." she took the coffee, drinking it eagerly. "How about you? The kids ok?"

Jaune chuckled a little. "For the most part. Junior kept pranking Huo. speaking of which, she discovered her semblance" he said, gesturing to a large burn mark on the wall. “I got most of it recorded, if you want to watch it.”

Yang laughed a little "she really is my daughter isn't she?" giggling again, she leaned closer giving Jaune a kiss before heading upstairs to check on the kids herself. While she was upstairs, he went over the past week, including the...guest..

 

0-0-0-0-0 Remembrance, Jaune 0-0-0-0-0

 

The kids had just been let out into the backyard. He was watching them, making sure they got along, when the doorbell rang. Sighing, he went to go answer it. Walking through the house, he opened the door, expecting to see one of his friends, Nora or Ren. he didn’t expect to see Ozpin and Ruby.

“What are you doing here?” he asked tersely.

Neither directly responded. “Mr Arc, may we come in?” asked Ozpin in his usual reserved tone.

“Yeah, yeah sure” he replied, looking curiously at Ruby, who kept her hood up, hiding her face in shadow. Something felt, off, about this. They both walked in, going to sit in the kitchen. Or rather, Ozpin sat while Ruby stood behind him. Jaune sat himself across from them, keeping an eye on the children through the window.

“You must be wondering why we’re here” said Ozpin, resting his hands lightly on the table. Behind him, Ruby shifted slightly, her cloak rustling.

“The thought did cross my mind, headmaster. It is unusual for you to leave Beacon these days. You normally just send the General.” it was an inflammatory comment, mostly directed at Ruby. he was glad to see her nervously fidget again.

“Jaune, I know you don’t approve, but we need you. Once I get too old, Beacon is going to need a strong headmaster. You are a natural leader.” Jaune looked at Ozpin. He did seem very old, though it was hard to tell. He still felt that there was something wrong about this.

“I’ve said it before, and it still stands. I have a family to care for.”

“And you will need money. Isn’t that why Ms Xiao Long still takes missions?” Jaune was shocked. How did he know what they did? He smiled, very faintly. “As headmaster of Beacon, i have the information on every mission, and who takes it, as well as the complete roster of active huntsmen and huntresses.”

Jaune clenched his hands under the table. His ears were filled with a ringing sound, and he was about to start shouting at the man, but at that moment, Junior and Huo came running in, giggling and pushing each other. They stopped at the scene in front of them.

“Daddy, who are you talking to?” asked Huo. Jaune stood up calmly, before moving to stand by them. “This is your...aunt, Ruby.” he indicated the hooded girl. Slowly, she lowered her hood, mismatched eyes taking in the sight of her niece and nephew. “And this is Ozpin” he said, but the children weren’t listening.

“She’s our aunt?” asked Junior, looking at her curiously.

“She’s so coooool!” shouted Huo, running over and attaching herself to Ruby’s leg, Junior right behind her. Ruby, still the same when it came to other people, awkwardly waddled outside, a child on each leg, which is what Jaune had hoped for, as he now didn’t have to worry about the kids overhearing.

“Such amazing children, Mr Arc.” Ozpin had stood up, resting both hands on top of his cane. “For now, I’ll leave, and give you some time to think about the offer.” he turned to leave, placing a sealed letter on the counter as well.

“Ozpin, why are you so insistent on it being me? Why not Glynda?”

He stopped, just a few feet from the front door. He didn’t turn around, but jaune detected a tenseness in his shoulders. “Miss Goodwitch wasn’t there, that night.” and then he was gone. A few minutes later, the kids came back in, saying that “auntie” had left as well.

“She’s soo cool!” said Junior. “She showed us her scythe!”

And her eyes are funny” added Huo, not realizing her hands were on fire.

“How come mommy never talks about her?” asked Junior. Jaune froze. He wasn’t sure how to explain it, nor was he exactly sure himself. “You know what, why don’t we go get some ice cream, ok?” immediately, they forgot all about questions as they started running around cheering for ice cream. He would have to remember to tell Yang about this, the visit, and the question.

 

0-0-0-0-0 Present, Jaune 0-0-0-0-0

 

In the kitchen, Jaune picked up the envelope from the table. Sighing angrily, he turned to throw it out, but before he could, he heard Yang speak from behind him.

"What is that?"Her voice was serious, and, turning around, he saw that her arms were folded, face set in a deep frown. Sighing, he handed the envelope to her. Seeing the Crest of Vale on the front, her frown turned to a scowl.

"They’re still after you? Even after all we've said?" she half shouted, not wanting to wake the kids.  
Jaune sighed warily, gesturing for her to read it. "Not quite."

Opening it, Yang quickly read through it, becoming angrier with every sentence. When she finished, her eyes were red, hair flickering with flames."I do not care what they offer. I will not let that...bureaucracy take you away. Who would look after the kids? We don't need this."

Jaune sighed. "I know honey, I told them the answer is no." Yang calmed down a little, the flames dissipating, the room cooling by ten degrees, though her eyes were still red.

"Good. after...that day...I'm not letting another family member be sucked into the pit Ozpin has created." Jaune walked forward, hugging the fiery blonde, saying nothing just yet, just being there.

"I know." Jaune said after several minutes "we've both lost people to that man. I...I lost Pyrrha. You, in a way, lost Ruby. but I will not leave you. Just like you didn't leave me. Us being together. It is our destiny"

 

0-0-0-0-0 Past, Weiss 0-0-0-0-0

 

Everything was set, it had all been checked three times. There would be something for everyone tonight, as she had planned on accommodating four cultures into one night. The party was obviously being held in Atlas, the decor was Mistralian though, the muzak Vacuoan, and the food Valeian. The choice to use Vale as the food had gotten weird looks at first until she reminded them that Valeian food was the most diverse of all, and the most likely to please.

Now the first guests were arriving, Atlesian, always first and slightly early. Then came Mistralian delegation, perfectly on time. Next came most of the Vale delegation, slightly behind the other two, not because they were late, but rather because they had elected to let the Mistralian people go ahead of them. Finally, lastly, came the many Vacuoan people, late, loud, and unapologetic as ever. Weiss would have loved to personally greet them all, however she had to be at the head table, to oversee everyone and make sure they were all seated appropriately. Each table would have at least one person from each kingdom.

Still, as requested, as each person entered, their name and status were called out. After hearing the last of the Vacuoan people called out (Damien Dark-Sand, Headmaster of Shade Academy, and Misana DuVoe, Head of the Vacuan Council) she felt somewhat confused. Not everyone was here. Who’s names had she not heard….then it occurred to her, as the last two walked in late, she felt, to purposely to bring attention to them, and seem more important.

“Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy, and General Ruby Rose of the Vale Military.”

Ozpin looked inscrutable as ever, in his black suit, green vest and shirt, and ever present cane, brown eyes surveying the room over dark spectacles. In contrast to that, Ruby was in quite a fancy Military dress uniform, similar to General Ironwood over to her left, but in the colors of Vale, and with the symbol of Vale, two crossed Axes surrounded by laurel wreath, on the shoulder. They took their seats, Ozpin at the head table, with the other headmasters, and Ruby at one of the other tables, with a member of the Atlas council, a rich Mistralian influencer, and a Vacuoan General. Once everyone was seated, she signaled the music to be started, then she got up, going around to talk to the various people at the tables.

 

0-0-0-0-0 Past, Blake 0-0-0-0-0

 

She had to run. They would be after her, they had been after her, ever since the Fall...seeing Adam, running away again...foiling his plans again...yeah, the Fang would no longer tolerate her being alive anymore.

In the last month, she had moved constantly. She had considered going home only once, but dismissed it. Why would she go to there, the headquarters of the White Fang movement, when they wanted her head.

She had to run, but now was too late. They had found her hideout, and any moment, they would find her, hiding in the corner of the bedroom she was in. she could hear them, two were on the floor below, the other three moving towards her on this floor.

Then several things happened at once. The door was kicked open, faunus started attacking, the sound of glass breaking and Blake’s vision became filled with red. Ruby had come crashing through a window, right as the White Fang came in through the door, with a shout, Ruby unleashed a huge blast of electrical energy, striking each faunus in the chest, each falling to the ground, twitching, unconscious. Then Ruby turned to look at Blake, hiding in the corner, her face practically glowing with a smile.

“Hey Blake. Funny meeting you here” she held out her hand, pulling Blake up with ease despite their height difference.

“Ruby...what...what are you doing here?” from below them they could hear more White Fang, alerted by the attack, charging their way up to them

“Saving your butt apparently” Ruby extended a hand, a scythe, black as obsidian forming in the air, before grabbing it and moving toward the door. “Come on. I’m not gonna let these creeps get you. Not when i’ve been tracking them down since they started moving in Vale again.” so saying, Ruby ran out through the building. Blake tried to help her, but she didn't need it. None of the White Fang could even get close to keeping up with her. Finally they walked out to the street, and Blake saw him standing there.

Adam.

Behind them the doors slammed closed. Blake looked back.

Ilia.

“Ruby….you should be caref-” but Ruby had already moved, running forward at a blinding pace and for a moment fear gripped her heart. She couldn't have a repeat of Yang. But with seemingly impossible speed, ducked under his swing, then her hand snapped up, and she grabbed the blade of the sword. Even with the mask she could see the surprise on Adam's face, and Ruby slowly stood, her grip unwavering until fully upright again. Then, her eyes blazed with gold fire, a fissure rang down Adam’s blade, and the sword shattered with enough force to send Adam flying backwards, unconscious. Dropping the fragment of his weapon that was in her hand, she turned to Ilia.

“Are you going to try me?” Ilia’s body turned completely yellow, and she ran off into the night. Ruby watched her go, before her eyes extinguished, and she fell to her knees, clutching her head in pain. Blake ran over, kneeling down, not sure how to help. Ruby was blinking rapidly, and through the blinking Blake swore she saw Ruby’s eyes changing, green, brown, silver, before she looked up at blake with her now regular mismatched eyes. Blake had never really said to anyone, but she absolutely loved heterochromia.

“Are you...ok?”

“Yeah..im fine its just...nothing...i'm not really used to...this yet.”

“.......Thank you”

“For what?”

“Being there”

 

0-0-0-0-0 Present, Ruby 0-0-0-0-0

 

Ruby could feel the nagging, in the back of her mind. It had been constant, for almost the past week now, ever since she had gone to visit Jaune with Ozpin. They were technically always there. Though most days they had nothing to say.

“But that wasn’t really Ozpin was it”

“Shut up”

“Sooner or later you’ll have to give it up”

“Shut. Up.”

“They’re right you know.” that voice wasn't in her head, rather it came from behind her. Ozpin, sitting on her couch.

“No one has to know. The people believe you are ok. That’s enough. Plus i’m trying. He refuses to accept. Why won’t he just…”

“Because your sister had changed him. For better or worse, he’s more assertive now” said Pyrrha. And with it came the feeling. Attraction to Jaune, grief over their distance. But these weren’t her feelings.

“I’m sorry you feel that way, but these are ALL of our feelings now” added Amber, much more in tune with Ruby’s own thoughts than Pyrrha.

“I know these times are rough, but really Miss Rose, you cannot keep this up much longer. You are going to drive yourself to death trying”

Ruby stood, looking at Ozpin. Were anyone to currently look into the room they’d see only her talking to a cane set on a couch “The world wasn’t ready to lose you. They still need you. And I….I’m still not ready to do this alone”

“You flatter me, truly, but the world doesn’t really have me does it. They only have what you remember of me, and what part of me remains in my cane” he stood, giving her the glance he so often did. “Just think about it. And if anything, you know i can always remain with you, though it might hurt you more than help.” with that, he vanished, the pearly stone set in the cane once again swirling before settling again.

In her mind, Pyrrha and Amber settled down. Ruby sighed. Ozpin was right. Of course he was right, he only said what was in her mind, whether she knew or not. It was the ingeniousness of his cane. Long ago he had used some of his power to store part of himself within it, and those such as herself could call him to help provide mental clarity in times of need. But Ruby had gone further, pouring her power into making him into a solid form. After his death, she had taken his cane, and with her power, and Amber’s help, she had created a convincing enough cover story. Enough that people believed, so that it went unchallenged.

Still, she knew that the effort was weakening her. But she couldn’t take a break, not with how much Ozpin was needed. But maybe..."maybe the world doesn’t need him. Maybe it’s just you who needs him" She had thought Amber had settled, but it seemed she still had things to say. Ruby pushed her down. This was HER head. She wouldn’t let guests dictate her actions. She was strong enough. She didn’t need help. She was strong. She was. She had to be.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Not really sure what to do or where to go with this story. This is what happens when I try to make an offhand one-shot into a full AU. if you have any ideas of things you would want to see, I might consider incorporating one or all of them in some way, though of course not exactly as proposed. Gotta keep the surprise somehow. For now here’s some random scenes of the past and some whiterose fluff and lore explanation that I couldn’t fit elsewhere or that I cut because they were too short.

0-0-0-0-0 Adam, Past 0-0-0-0-0

Adam sat in his cell. Hair over his face. They had taken what remained of his weapon. Taken his clothes, giving him a plain prison outfit, taken his mask. His identity. He didn’t care. He no longer cared about anything. For three weeks he had sat here, unmoving. No contact to the outside world. Soon. soon he would have the energy. For one final strike against the humans. Soon he would have his chance.

0-0-0

The execution of Adam Taurus was a widely publicized event. He was due to be killed by Aural draining, then a simple metal spike would sever his spine. His death would be too quick and painless for many, however the more archaic forms of punishment had long since been outlawed. However, for many, they would not get to see his end. As he was being brought into the chamber, he made one final move. They had but a split second of warning. Over the weeks since his capture he had not moved from his one spot, the only time he actually ever moved was to eat. He hadn’t even bothered walking to his demise, instead being dragged. But then once in the room, he looked up slightly, then his hair glowed red, and his hand sung up, as he channeled his semblance through his arm, a devastating slice of red energy sweeping through the room, smashing into the camera crew, killing one and brutally injuring the other. As those in attendance screamed, Adam just laughed, his now mangled arm falling limply to his side.

 

0-0-0-0-0 Ruby, Past 0-0-0-0-0

 

The fire still crackled, rubble burning, acrid smoke filling the air. Around the central area, were bodies, some hideously burned, others, farther from the blast, pierced by shrapnel and debris. She had never seen so many dead in one place, but she kept going, climbing over rubble, avoiding any chunks still falling from the ruined ceiling. She finally arrived at where she needed to be. He lay there, his body had been filled with several jagged scraps of metal, a look of surprise on his normally serene face. And on the floor, almost as pristine as when she had first seen it, his Cane. She picked it up, feeling his presence swelling inside of it, and left quickly. But before she went she gave one last look at the ruined body of the man she needed most right now to guide her. Raising her hand, she turned away, sending a wave of fire to char the body beyond recognition.

She had work to do.

 

0-0-0-0-0 Weiss, Present 0-0-0-0-0

 

All day, orders to give, requests to receive, papers to look over and either sign or dismiss. She ran a tight ship here at her company, but sometimes that meant a lot of pressure on herself. As Weiss was going over several documents relating to sub locations for recruitment centers, she got a package delivery, the deliverer, a young girl, had to ask for her signature three times before she even noticed. As she idly signed the slip with one hand, turned to the next report on her scroll, only to feel the cool edge of a knife at her throat. She froze, wondering who could possibly want her dead, before a teasing voice whispered in her ear. “You should really learn to recognize me Weissy. Otherwise you might have been in trouble there.”

Weiss felt the blade disappear, and she turned to face a mischievously grinning Ruby, dressed as a common delivery girl. Weiss gave an angry “hmph” before turning away to not look at Ruby “That wasn’t very nice of you, you know. I could have seriously hurt you”

Weiss felt Ruby drape herself over Weiss, arms hanging lazily around her neck, as Ruby gently gave her a small kiss on the cheek. “You know I would never hurt you. And I doubt you would ever hurt me. You love me too much” Weiss blushed, but it was true. She couldn’t even bring herself to stay mad at Ruby. rather, she sighed, leaning back in her chair. Even with all her years experience in it now, she still found this job sometimes getting to her. She felt Ruby leaning her forward a bit before she started gently massaging her back, her hands felt incredibly warm, and combined with her dexterous fingers, made her practically melt into relaxation. She always knew exactly what Weiss needed. “I don’t like how hard you work yourself Weiss. You should be more like me. Even the tallest buildings have some bend to them, otherwise they will collapse at the first strong wind.”

“Where’d you get that one?” Weiss mumbled out “Ozpin? Amber? Pyrrha?” Ruby kept silently massaging Weiss, moving up to her neck and shoulders. Weiss was one of the few people who knew about Amber and Pyrrha. The others being Blake, Uncle Qrow, Ozpin, and Miss Goodwitch. It was something she had had to tell her. It would have been awkward to not let her lover know that there were also two other people with her constantly, plus there was no other way to explain the sometimes random quick headaches.

“It’s is something Pyrrha’s dad used to say” Ruby never liked thinking and talking about Pyrrha, something Amber and Weiss both knew. It caused too much conflict in her, bringing the unavoidable surges of Pyrrha’s feelings for Jaune, in conflict with her own desires. Ozpin said it was because Pyrrha had settled in her “emotional” area, while Amber had taken her “thinking” area, which is why Amber talked more, but Pyrrha affected her more. She pushed away the feelings, instead, pulling Weiss back towards her, before moving around to sit facing Weiss in her lap, capturing her in a passionate kiss. The simple act drove away the last of the conflicting emotions, and she spent a few more minutes intermittently kissing and snuggling Weiss, before they both had to get back to their duties, Weiss running her company and Ruby needing to address the concerns of her Army.

 

0-0-0-0-0 Yang, Past 0-0-0-0-0

 

(A/N real quick, this scene was one of the many I first cut, but I feel like this is necessary to explain some things)

“He wants to use you Ruby. You can't do this. Especially not now.”

Ruby sat in their family home, on the couch. Yang was pacing around her, her new mechanical arm humming slightly whenever it moved. Around them, androids moved paying no attention as they brought in medical equipment, moving it down the hall towards their fathers room. He hadn’t been in good health ever since Summer died. The stress of the attack had been too much for him, though luckily he was able to hit the emergency button, before the heart attack had fully started.

“Yang….I-”

“No Ruby.” Yang cut her off. “You don’t owe him anything. You have no ‘duty’ to him. We are your family. Why are you putting some crazy thing before your own dad?” Yang was making it seem like this was about their dad, but Ruby could hear the truth in the waver of her voice, and see it in her shifting glance. This had nothing to do with their father, and everything to do with Yang blaming Ozpin for her lost arm. Ruby stood, feeling strange.

“The good of the world has to come first. There is so much that I have to do and there isn’t much time to do it” so saying she walked out not knowing her eyes had been completely brown, or that her voice had changed slightly”


End file.
